The NFL’s Tallest Players
Here’s your guide to the tallest NFL players: who they are, why teams covet that kind of size, and where height gives a genuine edge on Sundays.
We start with the current crop, crown the tallest active player, look back at the league’s loftiest ever, and finish with why you don’t see many 7-footers in the NFL.
The Height Advantage When Playing In The NFL
Height isn’t just a trivia nugget, it’s usable reach, vision and leverage.
Pad level and foot speed still rule the trenches. But when height comes bundled with balance and mobility, it’s a cheat code.
Here are just a few ways in which height offers an advantage when teams take to the gridiron:
- Pass protection & pocket width: Taller offensive tackles typically arrive with longer arms and a wider strike zone. That extra reach lets them meet edge rushers earlier and steer them around the arc, buying the quarterback the half-second that turns pressures into completions.
- Throwing windows & red-zone mismatches: Large-frame tight ends (think 6’7"-6’8") can post up linebackers like power forwards. In the red zone, a quarterback can throw "above the rim", away from defensive backs who simply can’t contest the apex.
- Defensive disruption: On the other side, long defensive ends and tackles can dent the pocket without even getting home, and tipped balls at the line matter. Taller linemen also keep their vision on the ball while engaged, helping on screens and misdirection.
- Special teams quirks: On field goals, wingspan helps create a wider "no-fly zone". Historically, this mattered so much that the league had to clarify rules about "goaltending" kicks (you’ll meet the reason for that later).
- Run-game angles & reach blocks: Longer levers let tackles and tight ends win the race to the spot on outside zone and pin-pull looks. Getting hands on a 9-tech or a scraping linebacker a fraction earlier widens the lane, seals the edge, and creates cleaner climb paths to the second level.
- Quarterback field vision & release trajectory: Taller QBs see more of the middle of the field over traffic and can vary release points to throw over reaching linemen. That extra sightline helps on crossers and seams, and a higher release can cut down on tipped balls in quick-game concepts.
The Tallest Players In The NFL Right Now
If you’re scanning game previews, names that frequently pop up among the tallest current players include giant bookend tackles and tight ends who challenge safeties at the catch point.
Below, we break them out by position group and, more importantly, what their size unlocks on the field.
Who Takes The Crown For The Tallest Player?
Dan Skipper (OT), 6’10″ - Detroit Lions
Rosters churn every preseason, but there’s one constant at the summit: Dan Skipper is the tallest active player in the league, commonly listed at 6'10".
Skipper’s made a career out of being the extra lineman who bulldozes fronts and alters edges. Detroit loves him in heavy sets, where his length can erase a C-gap and his frame turns second-level defenders into speed bumps.
He’s bounced around the league, but his best football has been in Honolulu blue, complete with a 2024 receiving TD on an eligible-tackle play that sent social media into a spin. The Lions re-upped him in March 2025, which tells you how they value his niche.
The Tallest Offensive Players In The NFL
Caleb Jones (OT), 6’9"
A mountain of a tackle who’s flashed in multiple camps. With a near-6’9″ length, his first punch lands early, and once he latches on, bull rushers tend to stall. Roster status changes quickly around preseason (he has bounced between rosters and free agency in 2024-25), but the size-and-power profile is textbook for a developmental tackle who can maul in gap schemes.
Joe Alt (OT), 6'9"
The pipeline keeps delivering giants. A recent example is Joe Alt, who arrived at the Los Angeles Chargers in 2024 as a 6’9" pick at No. 5 overall, one of the tallest first-rounders you’ll see, and he’s already playing like it, earning early rookie praise. That’s the type of prospect who shows how modern programs are developing taller linemen without sacrificing movement skills.
Stone Forsythe (OT), 6’8"
Classic tall edge protector with a basketball-player frame. His value is in pass pro: long levers, a patient set, and the ability to ride speed rushers past the spot. Taller tackles can struggle to "sit” versus inside counters; when Forsythe drops his hips, he looks the part of a long-term swing or right tackle.
Orlando Brown Jr. (OT), 6’8"
A Pro Bowler whose length and mass let him win without perfect foot speed. Brown’s anchor is elite, power rushers rarely move him, and his wingspan helps him recover when counters trigger.
In short yardage, he can torque edges open because defenders can’t get underneath his pads easily.
Mike McGlinchey (OT), 6’8"
The prototype for an outside-zone team that still wants a skyscraper at tackle. What height gives McGlinchey is strike radius; he lands his hands early and resets rush plans. In the run game, that frame seals the edge and widens lanes on toss and stretch.
Kolton Miller (OT), 6’8"
A true length-athlete blend. Miller’s kick-slide is smooth for a big man; he keeps a clean outside shoulder for his QB and can wash speed rushers even when they win the corner initially. At his best, he’s using that reach to steer and that stride to mirror.
Zach Gentry (TE), 6’8"
A red-zone headache when aligned as an in-line Y or split in condensed formations. His catch radius is outrageous; put it upstairs and let him box out. As a blocker, he’s closer to a sixth lineman than a finesse move tight end, useful on duo and power.
Donald Parham Jr. (TE), 6’8"
Parham’s a mismatch machine. At his size, corners need help, and linebackers need perfect leverage. He thrives on seam routes and fades where a QB just has to trust the frame. He’s also improved at shielding defenders on third-down stick concepts, extending drives, and extending games.
The Tallest Defensive Players In The NFL
Calais Campbell (DE), 6’8"
The living example that height plus technical savvy equals longevity. Campbell’s long arms keep him clean in run fits and let him two-gap when asked. On passing downs, his length forces quarterbacks to alter trajectories, and batted balls are part of the package.
Arik Armstead (DE/DT), 6’7"
Signing for the Jaguars in 2024, Armstead is a scheme-versatile giant who can reduce inside on third downs or set edges on early downs. His frame makes it tough for guards to land square on pulls; when he wins first contact, he forklift-lifts blocks and collapses lanes.
DeForest Buckner (DT), 6’7"
A pass-rush plan in a skyscraper’s body. Buckner’s long-arm move is textbook; he converts length to power, walks guards back, and still has the lateral agility to cross-face. In the red zone, his height narrows throwing lanes, huge on slants and quick game.
Aidan Hutchinson (DE), 6’7"
Edge flexibility and a motor that won’t quit. Hutchinson’s height doesn’t slow him down; it helps him run the hoop and stay attached through length. The result: persistent pressure and a QB who never feels comfortable setting his feet.
Isaiahh Loudermilk (DT), 6’7"
A long-lever interior lineman who wins with lockout length and vision at the line. Loudermilk’s frame helps him keep blockers off his chest, read the backfield, and get hands into passing lanes, exactly the kind of subtle disruption that kills screens and quick game.
Tanoh Kpassagnon (DE), 6’7"
A skyscraper edge with inside/outside versatility. At 6’7”, Kpassagnon’s condor reach shows up on long-arm rushes and on tipped throws when tackles can’t get under him. After stints with the Chiefs and Saints, he joined the Chicago Bears in July 2025; expect them to use his length on late downs and in heavy fronts to squeeze pockets and muddy throwing windows.
Gregory Rousseau (DE), 6’6"
Condor wings. Rousseau’s tackle radius is enormous; he turns near-sacks into sacks and wraps ball carriers who think they’re safe. On RPO looks, that length allows him to play "two at once" longer, mesh points get muddy.
Leonard Williams (DT), 6’5"
Heavy hands and lockout strength. Williams wins by creating space with his arms, seeing the blocker first, the ball second, and he finishes with upper-body torque. Taller interior defenders can rise; Williams fights to keep pads down and leverage intact.
Travon Walker (DE), 6’5"
A height-weight-speed unicorn. Walker’s size shows up when offences try to option him; he’s big enough to squeeze and quick enough to chase. His long-arm rush translates to late-down wins as he stacks counters over the season.
Zach Harrison (DE), 6’5"
Another long-levered edge with upside. Harrison’s frame screams power end; when he locks out early, he controls the C-gap and forces bounces into help. Add a reliable inside counter, and the length unlocks pocket squeezes.
The Tallest Players To Ever Feature In The NFL
Height has always had a niche in pro football, but only a few players have touched true outlier territory.
Richard Sligh - The Tallest Player In The NFL’s History
At a verified 7'0", Sligh stands alone atop NFL (and AFL) history. Drafted by Oakland in 1967, he played eight games and was part of the Raiders’ AFL title team that season. Sligh’s extreme height gave him unusual reach inside, useful on kicks and short-yardage stacks, even if his pro career was brief by modern standards.
The 6’10" Giants
Morris Stroud (TE), 6’10" - Kansas City Chiefs (1969–1974)
Stroud was so tall and springy that he helped inspire explicit language in the rulebook about goaltending field goals and extra points—teams were not going to let a 6’10" tight end stand under the uprights and swat kicks forever. Beyond the novelty, Stroud’s catch radius made him a legitimate red-zone target during a rugged Chiefs era.
Dan Skipper (OT), 6’10" - Among The Tallest Ever
You’ve met him already as the tallest current player. Skipper’s in rare company historically; even within the NFL’s long list of big men, 6’10" is near the absolute ceiling.
Ed Jones - The "Too Tall" Brick Wall
At 6’9", Ed "Too Tall" Jones is widely regarded as the tallest defensive end in NFL history.
Drafted first overall in 1974, the Dallas Cowboys made him the long-armed bookend of their Doomsday front, where his reach changed throwing lanes and his leverage set a hard edge against the run. Jones’ height wasn’t just spectacle; it was a weapon.
Quarterbacks had to loft balls over his extended frame, and tackles struggled to get under his pads when he locked out and controlled the line of scrimmage.
Why Aren’t There Many Players 7ft And Over In The NFL?
You’d think an extra few inches would always help. In the NFL, it often doesn’t. Why?
Leverage beats length in the trenches. Pad level is physics. A 7-footer’s natural strike zone is higher; shorter, powerful linemen can win the leverage battle, get under pads, and move the skyscraper.
There are also issues around bend and the centre of gravity.
Edge rushers need to run the hoop with shin-angle and hip-tilt. Interior linemen need to anchor without getting walked back. The taller you are, the harder it is to keep that centre of gravity low snap-after-snap.
Taller players often have issues with injury and durability as well. Longer limbs mean longer levers, more stress on joints, especially when 300-pounders crash into you 60+ snaps a game. Basketball tolerates that better because the collisions are different; football’s constant car-crash physics are brutal.
And finally, tall players can often struggle with speed and change of direction. And because the league is faster than ever, at 7’0", you’re fighting biomechanics to mirror twitchy pass rushers or to sink against a bull. A 6’6"-6’8" frame often hits the sweet spot: big enough to dominate, compact enough to bend.